- Date
- June 2, 1993, 18:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- St. Martinville, LA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N48724Grumman G-164B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 19, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930602016809A
- Case key
- 18764
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's and tractor driver's inadequate visual lookout
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
A farm tractor working a cane field adjacent to a private airstrip drove into the airstrip while the agricultural airplane was on its landing roll. The pilot attempted to miss the tractor by veering to the left of the airstrip; however, the right wing impacted the tractor
Factual narrative
On June 2, 1993, at approximately 1800 central daylight time, a Grumman G 164B airplane was substantially damaged upon impact with a farm tractor while landing at a private airstrip near St. Martinville, Louisiana. The commercial pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, nor the tractor driver, were injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the aerial application flight.
According to the operator, the airplane was on its landing roll when a farm tractor that was working in an adjacent cane field pulled into the landing strip from right to left. The pilot attempted to avoid striking the vehicle by veering to the left but the right wing struck the tractor resulting in structural damage to the right wing.
The wreckage was verbally released to the owner's representative at the accident site by the Federal Aviation Administration inspector.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N48724
- Reported as
- Grumman G-164B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1268
- Airframe hours
- 3,168
- Engine
- P&W R-985, 450 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Ed & Alex Flying Service Inc.
- Registered owner
- Ed & Alex Flying Service Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 10, 1993
- Departed
- NONE
- Destination
- NONE
- Airport
- NONE · Coteau Holmes Airstrip, runway 27, 5,000 × 35 ft, grass/turf
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 72
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 47,462 total · 47,270 as pilot in command · 160 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N48724 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.